Sogo bò, the animals come forth, is a lively tradition of puppet masquerade performed throughout the Segou region in south central Mali. The majority of people in this region live in rural communities where their main economic activities are agriculture, cattle keeping, and fishing. The climate is semi-arid and the region has two seasons (rainy and dry) and the Sogo bò festivals take place at the change of these seasons. In rural villages, the masquerade is intimately tied to the rhythm of the agricultural and fishing cycles and its timing within the year is expressly aimed at heightening, through artistic means, people's awareness of the change of seasons. The Sogo bò masquerades date from the pre-colonial era and are organized under the auspices of local village youth associations. Four ethnic groups within Sogo bò perform the masquerades: the Bozo and Somono, who are fishermen, and the Bamana and Maraka, who are farmers and traders. The rich puppet theatre of Mali, using sculpted figures which represent a large variety of characters, including animals, spirits, or legendary figures, perform in festivals to teach children folklores, legends and morals. These sculptures are sometimes attached to a cloth body, creating a gigantic animal that served as a mobile stage for performances organized by youth associations. Sogo bò is also an exploration of the moral universe; the largest group of masquerade characters and the oldest performed in the theater are bush animals. In Bamana communities, the bush is defined as the domain of men and the interpretation of the theater's bush animal characters are informed by beliefs and values associated with hunting and with hunters as men of action and society's heros.